The United States has used the Electoral College to do this since its founding elect the nation's president. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the White House.

Five presidents in the country's history have won the presidency without winning the popular vote – most recently Donald Trump in 2016. His opponent that year, Hillary Clinton, won over 2.8 million more votes than Trump nationwide, but lost enough key states to win being defeated in the Electoral College by 306 to 232.

In 2020, Trump lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College to Joe Biden. The electoral vote was 306 to 232but in favor of the Democrats.

Trump is once again the Republican nominee Election 2024 It became a tight race against Vice President Kamala Harris – with over 82 million votes cast in early voting.

Here's how the Electoral College works, as well as details about its history and the role individual voters play in the outcome of the presidential election.

What is the Electoral College and how does it work?

The Electoral College is the process by which Americans elect their president and vice president indirectly through their state's voters. To win the White House, candidates must secure 270 electoral votes, a majority of the 538 votes at stake.

Before the general election, states select lists of voters. After voters cast their ballots in November, the candidate who wins the popular vote determines which group of voters – Republican, Democrat or a third party – will cast their votes for president in the Electoral College.

In most states, the winner-take-all principle applies: whoever receives the most votes in the state wins all of his votes.

Maine and Nebraska have slightly different rules. They have a proportional representation system in which the winner of each congressional district receives one electoral vote and the winner of the statewide vote receives each state's remaining two electoral votes. Some Republicans We had since hoped to transform Nebraska's rules into a winner-take-all model one of his electoral votes often goes to the Democrat, but The effort was insufficient.

voters meet in their respective states Mid-December to cast their votes for president. The meeting takes place on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December, which this year falls on December 17th.

There is no constitutional provision or federal law requiring voters to vote for the candidate to whom they are committed, although this is almost always the case. “Believing voters” are rare because voters are selected by the parties.

How many voters are there in the Electoral College?

In total, there are 538 voters in the 50 states and Washington, DC

What determines how many electoral votes a state receives?

Each state is assigned electors based on the size of its congressional delegation. Several states with the smallest populations – Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming – have three electors each because they have one representative in the House of Representatives and two senators, while California, the largest state, has 54 electoral votes. Washington, DC is also assigned three electors.

States can gain or lose voters as populations change, and there have been a number of changes since the 2020 presidential election.

In redistricting following the 2020 census, Texas gained two electoral votes and five states gained one each, while seven states lost one electoral vote.

Who chooses the voters?

Voters are elected by their respective political party before the general election. Their sole purpose is to meet in their state after the November election and cast two votes – one for president and one for vice president.

Who are the voters?

Voters for each party may include state and local elected officials, party leaders, community activists, and other people associated with the party. They are typically selected “to recognize their service and commitment to that political party,” explains the National Archives.

There are no specific qualifications, but members of Congress and certain other officials, as well as anyone who has participated in an insurrection or rebellion, are barred from participating.

What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?

In the rare event that there is a tie in the Electoral College – which in modern times would mean each candidate receiving 269 electoral votes – members of the newly elected House of Representatives would decide the outcome of the presidential election, while the Senate would choose the vice president.

Such a quota election would take place even if none of the candidates achieved a majority. This could be the case if a third party candidate wins part of the vote or if there are several “faithless voters” who break their promise and vote for a candidate other than the one who won the state's popular vote.

If it went to the House, each state would get a single vote, regardless of the size of its congressional delegation, and the 50 House delegations (the District of Columbia would not participate) would select one of the top three presidential candidates.

The vice president would be elected by a simple majority in the Senate and all senators would have one vote. Therefore, it is possible that the president and vice president belong to different parties.

Since the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, contingent elections have occurred twice.

In 1824, four presidential candidates shared the vote, and no candidate won an electoral majority. John Quincy Adams won the House of Representatives election even though Andrew Jackson had won a majority of the popular and electoral votes.

And in 1837, Martin Van Buren won a majority of the electoral vote, but Virginia's 23 electors refused to support his vice presidential candidate Richard Johnson and became faithless electors. This left Johnson one vote short, leading to a possible Senate election, which he easily won.

Why do we vote when the electoral college chooses the president?

Five presidents in U.S. history have lost the popular vote and still managed to win the election, leading some to question why the country continues to hold the Electoral College in place. The Electoral College was established in Article II of the Constitution and could be repealed by a constitutional amendment. But this is a difficult path. Amendments require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-quarters of the states, or 38 of the current 50.

In a 2023 Pew Research poll, 65% of Americans said the president should be elected by popular vote rather than the Electoral College. Over the years, hundreds of proposals have been introduced in Congress to change the process. There is also a cross-state initiative called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Adopted by 17 states and Washington, D.C. This proposal would ensure that the winner of the popular vote receives all of the electoral votes in the states that have signed the pact – but it would only go into effect if enough states agree.

So why keep the Electoral College when Americans are so frustrated? According to the National Archives, the Founding Fathers viewed the Electoral College as a middle ground between sending decisions to Congress and a direct vote by citizens. Proponents say it lasts less populous states from underrepresentation by discouraging candidates from disproportionately campaigning in more densely populated urban centers.

What is the history of the Electoral College?

The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution of 1787. The term “Electoral College” does not appear in the country's historical document, but the word “electors” does, the National Archives noted.

Ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804 changed some Electoral College rules. For example, it was necessary to cast separate electoral votes for the president and vice president. With the ratification of the 23rd Amendment in 1961, the District of Columbia gained three electors.